Fuzzy Name Search for Hedge Funds

Overview

Fund names in the COVERPAGE.tsv may not match exactly what you're searching for. Fuzzy matching helps find the best match when you have approximate or partial names.

Libraries

Using fuzzywuzzy

pip install fuzzywuzzy python-Levenshtein

Using difflib (built-in)

No installation needed - Python standard library

Search Methods

Method 1: Using fuzzywuzzy (Recommended)

from fuzzywuzzy import fuzz
from fuzzywuzzy import process
import pandas as pd

def fuzzy_search_fund(search_term, coverpage_df, threshold=70):
    """
    Find funds matching a search term using fuzzy matching

    Args:
        search_term: Partial or approximate fund name (e.g., "renaissance technologies")
        coverpage_df: DataFrame from COVERPAGE.tsv
        threshold: Minimum match score (0-100)

    Returns:
        DataFrame of matches sorted by score (highest first)
    """

    fund_names = coverpage_df['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'].tolist()

    # Use extractBests to get multiple matches
    matches = process.extractBests(
        search_term,
        fund_names,
        scorer=fuzz.token_sort_ratio,  # Good for finding partial matches
        score_cutoff=threshold
    )

    # Build result dataframe
    results = []
    for matched_name, score in matches:
        fund_row = coverpage_df[coverpage_df['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'] == matched_name].iloc[0]
        results.append({
            'FILINGMANAGER_NAME': matched_name,
            'ACCESSION_NUMBER': fund_row['ACCESSION_NUMBER'],
            'match_score': score,
            'REPORTCALENDARORQUARTER': fund_row['REPORTCALENDARORQUARTER']
        })

    return pd.DataFrame(results).sort_values('match_score', ascending=False)

# Usage Example
q3_coverpage = pd.read_csv('/root/2025-q3/COVERPAGE.tsv', sep='\t')
matches = fuzzy_search_fund("renaissance technologies", q3_coverpage, threshold=70)
print(matches.head())

# Get best match
best_match = matches.iloc[0]
accession_number = best_match['ACCESSION_NUMBER']
fund_name = best_match['FILINGMANAGER_NAME']

Method 2: Using difflib (Built-in)

from difflib import SequenceMatcher
import pandas as pd

def simple_fuzzy_search(search_term, coverpage_df, threshold=0.6):
    """
    Simple fuzzy search using difflib (no external dependencies)
    """
    search_term_lower = search_term.lower()
    fund_names = coverpage_df['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'].tolist()

    matches = []
    for name in fund_names:
        similarity = SequenceMatcher(None, search_term_lower, name.lower()).ratio()
        if similarity >= threshold:
            fund_row = coverpage_df[coverpage_df['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'] == name].iloc[0]
            matches.append({
                'FILINGMANAGER_NAME': name,
                'ACCESSION_NUMBER': fund_row['ACCESSION_NUMBER'],
                'similarity': similarity
            })

    return pd.DataFrame(matches).sort_values('similarity', ascending=False)

Method 3: Partial String Matching (Simple)

def substring_search(search_term, coverpage_df, case_sensitive=False):
    """
    Simple substring matching (works for known partial names)
    """
    if case_sensitive:
        matches = coverpage_df[coverpage_df['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'].str.contains(search_term, na=False)]
    else:
        matches = coverpage_df[coverpage_df['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'].str.contains(
            search_term, case=False, na=False
        )]

    return matches[['FILINGMANAGER_NAME', 'ACCESSION_NUMBER']]

Matching Algorithms Comparison

Algorithm	Use Case	Pros	Cons
token_sort_ratio	Handles reordered words	"technologies renaissance" ≈ "renaissance technologies"	Slower
token_set_ratio	Handles subset words	"Renaissance Tech" ≈ "Renaissance Technologies"	Slower
fuzz.ratio	Exact character match	Fast, simple	Sensitive to word order
SequenceMatcher	Quick approximate match	Built-in, no deps	Less sophisticated
Substring match	Known partial names	Fastest	Only works with exact substrings

Best Practices

1. Start with a Reasonable Threshold

# For very fuzzy matches
matches = fuzzy_search_fund("berkshire", coverpage_df, threshold=50)

# For tighter matches
matches = fuzzy_search_fund("berkshire hathaway", coverpage_df, threshold=80)

2. Clean Search Terms

def clean_search_term(term):
    """Remove extra whitespace and punctuation"""
    return ' '.join(term.lower().strip().split())

search = clean_search_term("  RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGIES  ")
# Result: "renaissance technologies"

3. Validate Top Match

matches = fuzzy_search_fund("warren buffett", coverpage_df)

if len(matches) > 0:
    best = matches.iloc[0]
    print(f"Found: {best['FILINGMANAGER_NAME']}")
    print(f"Match Score: {best['match_score']}")
    print(f"Accession: {best['ACCESSION_NUMBER']}")

    # Manual verification
    assert 'berkshire' in best['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'].lower(), "Match doesn't contain expected keyword"
else:
    print("No matches found")

Common Search Patterns

# Search for famous fund managers
q3_data = pd.read_csv('/root/2025-q3/COVERPAGE.tsv', sep='\t')

# Renaissance Technologies (Jim Simons)
renaissance = fuzzy_search_fund("renaissance technologies", q3_data)

# Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett)
berkshire = fuzzy_search_fund("berkshire hathaway", q3_data)

# Citadel
citadel = fuzzy_search_fund("citadel", q3_data)

# Tiger Global
tiger = fuzzy_search_fund("tiger global", q3_data)

Example: Complete Fund Lookup Workflow

import pandas as pd
from fuzzywuzzy import process, fuzz

def find_and_verify_fund(search_term, coverpage_df, expected_keywords=None):
    """
    Find a fund and verify the match
    """
    # Fuzzy search
    fund_names = coverpage_df['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'].tolist()
    matches = process.extractBests(
        search_term,
        fund_names,
        scorer=fuzz.token_sort_ratio,
        score_cutoff=70,
        limit=3
    )

    # Verify with expected keywords
    for matched_name, score in matches:
        if expected_keywords is None or all(
            keyword.lower() in matched_name.lower()
            for keyword in expected_keywords
        ):
            fund_row = coverpage_df[
                coverpage_df['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'] == matched_name
            ].iloc[0]
            return {
                'fund_name': matched_name,
                'accession_number': fund_row['ACCESSION_NUMBER'],
                'quarter': fund_row['REPORTCALENDARORQUARTER'],
                'match_score': score
            }

    return None

# Usage
result = find_and_verify_fund(
    "renaissance",
    q3_data,
    expected_keywords=['renaissance', 'tech']
)

Troubleshooting

No Matches Found

• Lower the threshold: threshold=50 instead of 80
• Try simpler search terms: "Renaissance" instead of "Renaissance Technologies"
• Check if fund exists in data: coverpage_df['FILINGMANAGER_NAME'].str.contains(partial_name, case=False).any()

Too Many Matches

• Increase threshold: threshold=85 instead of 70
• Add more specific keywords: "berkshire hathaway" instead of "berkshire"

Wrong Match Selected

• Manually inspect top matches before using
• Add validation keywords to filter results
• Use limit=5 to get multiple options and review manually